350 Forza

[ducwiz]

About the compression issue:

I kicked my 350Mk3 Desmo for many years and about 40000km, witout any injury and only a few kickbacks. I presume a Desmo has the same high compression as a Mark3, but no valve lifter. I use a special technique for kick starting.
I also kicked the 450D of an old friend and must confess, that it wasn't as "easy" as with the 350. Respecting his age, he later installed a 450RT head, which has this littel decomprssion valve, also fond in old moped twostroke engines.
Btw, I can't imagine how a valve lifter mechanism would brake a rocker arm?

cheers Hans

[blethermaskite]

Go on Hans......please tell us your special technique? I have grown up with Velocette singles and as you probably know no one needed to worry about someone stealing their Velo because nobody (unless they knew the technique) could ever start one . I weigh about 62kg and regardless of whatever method I tried the only way for me to start the 350mk3 was to just very slightly ease over compression and then literally jump my whole body weight on the kickstart, I struggled for years with the awful motoplat ignition which made the starting process even worse as it slowly failed to spark reliably, after fitting lucas rita ignition things improved but it was still hard work.
Cheers,
George

[Duccout]

I sent the log book off to DVLA on Thursday morning for it to changed to my name, expecting a few week's wait, and it arrived back on Saturday! Must be a record and makes me wonder how the staff managed it.

Colin